-I’m actually on vacation this week. But here I am, for you, getting a couple things off my chest. First and foremost, when I return next week, I’ll have some exciting news to share regarding my podcast. So, make sure you turn on your phone and subscribe to “The Danny Picard Show” right now.
-The week before the NFL regular season begins is always a good time to get out of town and shut it down for a few days. The fourth week of preseason games this weekend are pretty much meaningless, unless you’re a player battling for one of your team’s final roster spots. But that’s more exciting for them, than it is us. For the most part, here in New England at least, we know who the key pieces will be for the Patriots this season. But I’m not going to lie, I’m surprised about Eric Decker’s retirement announcement last weekend.
As I wrote in my column for The Boston Metro newspaper just a few weeks ago, Decker seemed like the perfect Bill Belichick “diamond in the rough” signing. He’s 31 years old. It was a one-year deal with a max value of $2.1 million, with a cap hit of $1.5 million, but only $75,000 was guaranteed, in the form of a signing bonus. So, for the Patriots, it was a low-risk, high-reward deal. And for Decker, it was a way to prove himself in a single season with a Super Bowl contender, playing with one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Tom Brady, and having an opportunity to play an even larger role early on in the season, with Julian Edelman serving his four-game suspension.
But, after just three preseason games with the Patriots, Decker has decided to call it quits. Here’s what he had to say about it, via instagram:
“It has been my childhood dream and my passion to play the game of football. I was very fortunate and blessed to have had the opportunity to have those dreams fulfilled and to have played with such extremely talented and hard-working teammates, coaches and staff. This has been a passion inside of me since I was a little boy but I know now it is time to hang my helmet up and start a new chapter in my life. I love football and always will. It will continue to be a part of my life. I’m looking forward to spending more time with my wife and kids. I want to give a special thank you to my family, friends and fans for all your support on this incredible journey. It’s been an amazing chapter in my life. I look forward to the future and many adventures ahead.”
My first reaction to this is, he actually wrote this himself. This wasn’t a note written by a PR director or anything like that. This was from the heart, from Decker himself. But the whole thing still surprises me. It’s not like he’s a dinosaur. And he says he still loves football. I can’t tell whether his retirement is mental, physical, or both.
Watching the preseason action that he saw with the Patriots, it was clear that it just wasn’t working out for him. Sloppy routes, mental lapses, dropping balls. So, by watching his performance, I guess nobody should be surprised that he won’t be on the team this year. But I’m surprised that he actually looked that bad to begin with. Again, he’s 31, not 41. And the opportunity was there for him to play a pretty big role on a Patriots offense that’s looking for help.
Maybe he just didn’t want it bad enough, and he didn’t fully realize that until he showed up to Foxboro and Belichick was ripping him a new one in the film room. That’s the way it seems. But, man, if being a Patriot right now, with a chance to win the Super Bowl isn’t enough to motivate you, then I don’t know what to tell you. It’s kind of a bad look for Decker, to be completely honest. Perhaps he was told he was going to get cut, and because of his veteran status, the Patriots. gave him an opportunity to announce that he’s leaving on his own terms. That’s also very possible, because again, Decker looked terrible in the preseason.
So Decker will move on. And so will the Patriots, as they try to look elsewhere for a wideout to at least fill the void for Edelman’s absence in the first four weeks of the season. Maybe they’ll stay within the organization under their “next man up” philosophy. Or maybe, just maybe, they’ll give Dez Bryant a call, who, as I write this on Tuesday morning, is still a free agent.
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